Hegarty fired after 15 seasons as Arkansas women's tennis coach

Michael Hegarty, shown in this 2008 file photo, spent 15 seasons as head women's tennis coach at Arkansas.

— Arkansas fired women's tennis coach Michael Hegarty after the Razorbacks missed the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday.

Hegarty spent 15 seasons as Arkansas' head coach and had a record of 213-184. He took the Razorbacks to the NCAA Tournament nine times - including three consecutive seasons between 2015-17 - won SEC West championships in 2008 and 2009, and is the winningest coach in program history.

In a statement released Tuesday night, Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek said he informed Hegarty of his dismissal "shortly after the completion of our competitive season." The Razorbacks were eligible but were not selected for the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday afternoon.

No reason was given for Hegarty's dismissal.

“I appreciate his efforts with our program and wish him the best in his future endeavors," Yurachek said. "We will move forward in identifying a coach who will serve as a leader for our student-athletes on and off the court and will help our program compete and win in the Southeastern Conference and nationally.”

Hegarty's program made national headlines last week after it played Tennessee State six times on April 22 in order to obtain the minimum standard for eligibility into the NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks were 10-16 following a run to the SEC Tournament semifinals on April 18-21, but needed a .500 record to be eligible for the NCAA postseason.

Arkansas scheduled the six matches at Tennessee State in Nashville, Tenn., on April 21, the night of its elimination at the SEC Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn. The Razorbacks played all six matches over a 14-hour span beginning at 8 a.m. the final day of the regular season.

In an interview with WholeHogSports last Wednesday, Yurachek said he was at first against the decision to play six rounds of matches in one day, but agreed to it when players took a vote in favor of the marathon.

"Initially I did not support this, but what I do support are our student-athletes," Yurachek told WholeHogSports. "It became apparent this was something that was important to them. They made a run, felt like they were playing well and felt like they were a legitimate NCAA Tournament team toward the end of the season.

"I have been very adamant throughout my career that I support student-athletes. If I had even gotten an inkling that this was something they didn't support, I would not have changed my mind."

Arkansas (16-16) was passed over for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid by 12 teams that ranked below it in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's national rankings. Ten SEC teams made the tournament as an at-large selection and Vanderbilt earned the conference's automatic bid.

The Razorbacks jumped from outside the top 50 to No. 29 in the final ITA rankings by virtue of their three wins at the SEC Tournament and six wins at Tennessee State by scores of 4-0, 4-0, 4-0, 4-0, 4-0 and 4-3.

Tennessee State (13-16) received $15,000 to play the matches, according to The Tennesseean. Asked if that figure was accurate last week, Yurachek said it was in line with per-game guarantees the Razorbacks had paid other opponents.

A native of Melbourne, Australia, Hegarty was hired by Arkansas in 2002 from Florida, where he was an assistant coach for the Gators' men. He also served as a men's assistant coach at his alma mater, Auburn, for two seasons and for one season at Arkansas and Kentucky in the 1990s.

From 1997-2001, Hegarty was head coach at Fresno State and led the Bulldogs to a 76-33 record, three top 25 finishes and the 1999 Western Athletic Conference championship.